Submitted by Section Co-Chair, Tim Thielmann
Summary of Meetings
Number of Meetings Held: 4
September 21, 2012
Guest Speaker: David Bilinsky
Synopsis: 60 Practice Tips in 60 Minutes
December 18, 2012
Guest Speaker: Richard Stewart, Q.C.
Synopsis: Aboriginal Law and Conflicts of Interest
March 1, 2013
Guest Speaker: Robert Janes
Synopsis: Aboriginal Law - Year In Review
June 24, 2013
Guest Speakers: John Gailus, Karey Brooks, Joel Oliphant
Synopsis: Behn v. Moulton; Section Elections
Comments and Observations of the Chair
The sessions on practice and ethics issues were appreciated by members due to the convenience of earning these CPD credits locally and also because of the many challenging practice issues in this emerging field of law. The year-in-review and Behn v. Moulton sessions were also well attended, due largely to the experience of senior counsel presenting.
One of the biggest challenges was that to draw high calibre speakers from across the province would require significant increase in annual funding. There are only three main law firms practicing aboriginal law on Vancouver Island, with a few sole practitioners and smaller firms. Due to the fact that many of the more experienced lawyers in this field practice in Vancouver and elsewhere, I strongly encourage the CBA to increase budget allocations to our Vancouver Island Section (and other local Sections located outside of Vancouver) so that we can draw the kind of expertise needed to provide value for the fees our local members pay.
I have also appreciated the administrative 'tweaks' that CBA has made with the event notifications - so that members no longer receive auto-generated emails from CBA that appear to emanate from the address of the event creator. The event enrolment and notification process generally works quite well and I have found CBA staff very helpful in managing email correspondence with members.